Finding An Attorney To File A Class Action Against A Utility (power lines, insurance)

[Des-Lab]

Lawyers are dime a dozen. I can find attorneys specializing in things like criminal law, family law, employment law, DUI, etc by the hundreds all day long.

Finding one willing and interested in a Class Action, however, is a whole different story.

I've inquired with dozens of firms all up and down the state about possibly exploring and filing one against a utility company.

Haven't received a single response. Not one.

Is this the classic passive-aggressive "No answer IS your answer"?

Here in Central CA, a few weeks ago, there was a power outage caused by a drunk driver. And when power was restored a few hours later, a massive surge went out. Hundreds of homes suffered various degrees of damage, ranging from a few blown switches and fuses to major like fried appliances like TV's, dishwashers, A/C units to catastrophic as in the entire electrical systems in the house, effectively rendering them condemned and uninhabitable. Damage assessment continues to take place and continues to grow. By the time all is said and done, it will probably be in the millions inasmuch as entire neighborhoods and subdivisions were affected. About 150 families (and counting) so far are banding together and getting organized in seeking any possible legal action and remedy. The local media has already ran two stories on this.

And to add insult to injury, the utility has notified all of us that because of the sudden "extra usage in power", that we can expect this and next months bills to double, triple, or quadruple, even though it's pretty obvious what this "extra usage" was: it wasn't. It was rammed through the wiring.

These are all new and recent build homes with modern electrical systems and fuse breakers. The fact that even those got toasted speaks volumes about just how powerful the surge was.

The extent of this damage is far, far too great to have just been an isolated incident.

The utility has, of course, thusfar denied any responsibility as well as all claims and is standing behind the "this power outage was beyond our control" rhetoric.

We generally agree that the damage was not caused by the outage per se, but as a result of when the power came back on. Nobody could find any statement of indemnity on the utilities part from that perspective.

The City has been notified and has been curiously silent on all of this. But the City is mired in its own disarray and scandals.

Piecing all of this together and another possible theory/explanation has come to light:

When the power lines were laid out, inadequate safety measures/shortcuts may have been taken, which the city knew about and signed off on. Kickback perhaps?

That would explain why they have nothing to say.

Any way you look at it, this is definitely huge and has massive lawsuit written all over it.

But to find a law firm willing to take it on?

I can't believe that as many attorneys as there are out there, not one has expressed a scintilla of interest.

Or are the utilities so well shielded in CA (PG&E has been effectively told they can literally get away with murder and not have to answer for it) that it's just not a fight that we have any possible chance of winning?

Any guidance would be appreciated.

Thank you

[Mr5150]

A power surge is the normal result of power restoration. Just how it works. How come you didn’t turn off your breaker box when the power went off? Or have surge protectors on your electronics? The only parties at fault are the drunk driver and those who sat on their hands and did nothing until the power was restored

[Des-Lab]

Originally Posted by Mr5150

A power surge is the normal result of power restoration. Just how it works. How come you didn’t turn off your breaker box when the power went off? Or have surge protectors on your electronics? The only parties at fault are the drunk driver and those who sat on their hands and did nothing until the power was restored

It happened in the middle of the night. Most of us didn't even know the power was out. And we do have surge protectors. Many of those were fried too as was actual wiring inside the walls.

What are we supposed to do? Shut off power to the whole house every night for the possibility of something like that happening? That can't possibly be considered a reasonable request.

[Mr5150]

So sue the drunk driver. He/she was the cause of the damage. Surges are what happens when power is restored. Just how it works with power grids. Are you suggesting that PGE should not repair and restore power due to the risk of damaging power surges?

[mgforshort]

We live in Northern California and get our power from PG&E. Power outages are not the exception but the norm; on a really bad day we lose power two-three times.
Last Saturday we had our power turned off as a protection due to high winds and did not come back until late Sunday.

Our house has a whole house generator and many residents have a similar setup. The power goes down, comes back, but we did NOT suffer the devastating consequences the OP had in his entire city.

The point of my post is that whatever happened is NOT normal and the utility company is responsible.
This story would do well on Sixty-Minutes.

We had a plumber at our home when we moved in, and he showed me how to turn off the water if we get a leak. Then he added, "but when you turn it back on do it slowly or you could get a sudden surge in water pressure and experience damage."

[Mr5150]

Sue the deep pockets. Not the cause: drunk driver

[Ruth4Truth]

I'm not so sure that a massive surge is automatically the result of electrical service being restored. I live in a neighborhood where the car-accident-taking-out-a-utility-pole scenario happens every few years. Lightning, too, can disrupt service. There have never been any debilitating surges after power has been restored. If for some reason that's par for the course in PG&E-land, the utility should tell residents to turn off their fuse boxes. (Except everyone was asleep when the OP's incident occurred.).

Also, the question of whose fault it is for burned-out appliances doesn't address the billing issue; charging customers for a huge surge. The whole scenario is strange. If PG&E isn't able to regulate its power delivery after a shutdown, there's something wrong. Other utilities around the US don't have this problem.

OP, you could start by contacting your State Attorney General. Collect your documentation, organize a group of neighbors (perhaps via the NextDoor internet site/s for your area), and address the Att'y Gen'l as a group. Include any media articles on the issue.


P.S. For some extra media play (to turn up the pressure on the utility), when/if you do hear back from the Att'y General, you (the group) could send a press release to the local media, saying you've contacted and heard back from the Att'y General. Look up online how to write press releases; there's a format to follow. It's easy. If you do this, be sure to provide a reliable phone contact #, and be available at it when you say you will. Otherwise, reporters will blow you off.

Good luck!

[cb73]

I have SMUD and we've had lots of outages--and never a power surge afterwards. I've done the normal turn off lights, tv, etc. when the power is down, but who would unplug the refrigerator or power down the lines inside the walls?

Edit: Here's a blurb from the news story, and the probable reason no attorney is interested:

Erling and most other people contacted their insurance companies, and are getting reimbursed for the damage.

"Only took them about a day to have a field adjuster come out and take a look at the damage. The only thing she told me on the phone was to replace the refrigerator immediately. That was a necessity, because I have three kids," said Erling.

But some people are saying the power company, Southern California Edison, should be liable for the surge.

So the logical response is going to be--your homeowner's/renters insurance would cover the losses. If you didn't choose to have insurance, you cover the loss. At least that's how it would probably play out in court.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by Mr5150

So sue the drunk driver. He/she was the cause of the damage. Surges are what happens when power is restored. Just how it works with power grids. Are you suggesting that PGE should not repair and restore power due to the risk of damaging power surges?

I agree, the cause was the drunk driver, not PG & E, sue him/her.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by cb73

I have SMUD and we've had lots of outages--and never a power surge afterwards. I've done the normal turn off lights, tv, etc. when the power is down, but who would unplug the refrigerator or power down the lines inside the walls?

Edit: Here's a blurb from the news story, and the probable reason no attorney is interested:

Erling and most other people contacted their insurance companies, and are getting reimbursed for the damage.

"Only took them about a day to have a field adjuster come out and take a look at the damage. The only thing she told me on the phone was to replace the refrigerator immediately. That was a necessity, because I have three kids," said Erling.

But some people are saying the power company, Southern California Edison, should be liable for the surge.

So the logical response is going to be--your homeowner's/renters insurance would cover the losses. If you didn't choose to have insurance, you cover the loss. At least that's how it would probably play out in court.

I would think, that if there's a chance the utility could be held liable, the homeowners' insurance companies would go after that.

This still doesn't address the issue of ratepayers being billed for the surge, as if the cost were due to their excessive consumption. And the fact that insurance companies are willing to pay out, without looking into utility liability, implies that they're fine with shelling out every time electrical service is cut off, and restoration causes a destructive surge. It doesn't quite make sense.

What the insurance companies' involvement does mean, is that the OP and his aggrieved neighbors may have to limit their complaint to the State Attorney General to the excessive billing. More info is needed about this case. OP, did you have renters' or homeowners' insurance? And your neighbors who are also complaining--do they have insurance?